Justice League Reshoots Changed Cyborg and Added More Humor

2 months ago

Last month, a report surfaced that the Justice League reshoots, under the direction of Joss Whedon, have started to spiral out of control, with the studio reportedly spending upwards of $25 million on the reshoots that have taken over two months. Of course, no details for what exactly was shot have surfaced, until now, with Joe Morton, who plays Silas Stone, the father of Victor Stone/Cyborg (Ray Fisher), teasing in a new interview that part of the reshoots helped adjust the “tone” for the Victor Stone/Cyborg character, to help “lighten up” the film. Here’s what he had to say below.

“Well, the stuff that I had to do were just really small little bits and pieces, nothing necessarily having to do with tone. I know that with Ray Fisher, the young man who plays Victor, there were some adjustments that they made in terms of the tone of that character. I think what I heard was that there was a need from the studio to lighten up the film in a way, that the film felt too dark. I don’t know what that meant in terms of how it actually got translated in terms of the reshoots but that’s what I heard. That’s what I thought some of the reshoots were about.”

Joe Morton’s statement to IGN makes sense, especially considering a report from March, which claims that Cyborg is at the “heart” of the Justice League story. While we still don’t have a lot of details, it has been confirmed that Cyborg essentially represents one of the “mother boxes,” which Steppenwolf is seeking. Joe Morton also confirmed that his character Silas Stone will be returning for the Cyborg movie, which is currently eyed for a 2020 release, and added that he believes his casting as Silas Stone was sort of an homage to his Miles Dyson character in the 1991 classic Terminator 2: Judgment Day, adding that they’re both characters who, “rebuilds something that’s not quite human,” comparing both Miles and Silas to Dr. Victor Frankenstein. When asked about how Silas feels about what he did to save his son, the actor had this to say.

“I think you’re correct. It is unintended consequences and then at first it’s not looked upon by Victor as something that’s correct. Unlike the other members of the Justice League, Victor has no alias, he has no way of hiding behind another personality or some sort of mask in order to protect themselves. He is very much like Frankenstein [Frankenstein’s Creature] again in that there’s no disguising who he is. So that what I think ends up happening is that section of the movie and certainly that character, Cyborg, is a metaphor for being The Other. Which is why I’m glad it’s being played by, that I’m playing dad and Victor is a black, young man. Because I think that is the metaphor in a certain way, that it is talking about what it means to be The Other. Even if you have something that you can contribute to society, very often society doesn’t view you that way. Because when you are The Other, the first response by the mainstream, if you will, is to ostracize. So I think that’s what Victor’s fears are. He has to figure out how to overcome before he then eventually becomes benevolent and understands that the powers that he has can be used for great good.”

We reported last month that Joss Whedon will not receive a directorial credit on Justice League, after stepping in to take over for Zack Snyder, who had to leave the project following a family tragedy. It still isn’t clear at this time if the Justice League reshoots are still ongoing, but as of now, Warner Bros. will still be sticking with the original November 17 release date for this highly-anticipated superhero adventure. However, if the reshoots continue to spiral out of control, it’s possible the release date may ultimately be pushed.